Commute Ice Casualty Count
Total number of cars on the side of the road or in a ditch on the way to work at 11:30am this morning? 9.
The most impressive was the Lexus in the drainage ditch between North/West-bound 183 and the service road just in front of the shopping centers at 360 (the ones with the Best Buy/Crate & Barrel and Dave & Buster’s/Babies R’ Us.
I didn’t see any accidents in progress or being cleaned up. I did run into a guy at the coffee shop who said that he drove up from San Antonio last night and it took him 5 hours. For those unfamiliar, that drive should take 1 hour. He witnessed an 18-wheeler at a 90-degree angle to the road at one point and also saw several cars spin out. He also witnessed two people trying to negotiate the hill at Spicewood Springs and 360 with no luck. In fact, at least one of the cars ended up rolling over as it went down the hill. Yikes!
I didn’t see much ice on the actual roads. There was some on the shoulders. The flyover from northbound I-35 to north/west bound 183 was even clear and you’d expect that to be one of the worst spots.
Since we’re not going to get any more precipitation, it shouldn’t be too bad tomorrow despite the temperature dropping even lower tonight.
Here are my commute casualty stats for this morning:
Time of departure from Hyde Park: 10:50am.
Average speed: 27 mph
Number of bridges crossed: 5
Most hazardous bridge crossed: Hancock Drive over Mopac (the ice was still visible as were the skidmarks).
Number of stalled, abandoned or wrecked cars spotted: 5
Number of policeman spotted responding to accidents or directing traffic: 4
Number of closures encountered: 3 (2222 west from 360, northbound onramp to 360 from 2222, 360 northbound overpass at 2222).
Time of arrival at work (2222 @ 360): 11:25am.
Condition: unscathed.
Time of departure from Clarksville: 9:30
Speed: SLOW
Number of cars abandonded: 3 (But, I did see that Lexus…that was amazing. I bet they have to replace the driver’s seat when they fix that car!)
Time of arrival at work: 10:05
Times I busted my ass? Twice. Once on my own front stoop and once walking into the office. So bitter. I should have stayed home…I was hungover anyway.